Five Elements of Successful Emails

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The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) found in 2021 that 87% of marketing professionals rank email newsletters as their second most-preferred content type. Data from Litmus research in 2020 reveals that four out of five marketers would choose to give up social media marketing over email marketing. And 31% of marketers claim email newsletters are the most effective method for nurturing leads.

It makes sense. Hubspot has said that every dollar your business spends on email marketing generates an ROI of 3,800%, so it’s no wonder that companies like to invest heavily. Not to mention that email marketing also helps you build relationships with your subscribers! 

So, what kinds of emails do prospects want to receive, and how can you gain their trust? Keep reading to discover the five elements to incorporate in your email marketing campaigns to make them more enticing to your marketing and sales prospects.

Five Elements of Successful Emails  

Let’s talk about the elements to incorporate into your emails and e-newsletters that will help win the trust of your target customers and garner more leads and conversions for your business.

Short Subjects, Clear Copy 

This study from Adobe Marketo uncovered that email subject lines with seven words had the highest click-to-open (CTO) rate at 10.8%, whereas the nine-word subject CTO rate was 10.6%. Furthermore, about half of people read emails on their phones, and most mobile email clients only display 43 characters of a subject line. Keep the subject line of your email short and use language that will entice the recipient to open the email.

Once they’ve opened your email, don’t make them read an entire novel’s worth of content to get to the point. Keep the body of your message short by using bullet points – usually no more than three – and short sentences. Be clear about what your subscribers will receive when they click on an offer. And if you’re sending out newsletters, keep links to content down to three, even if one of those links is to an offer such as a white paper, case study, or webinar.

Videos Get Clicks  

Making sure you mention a video in your subject line can increase open rates by 19%. Furthermore, video thumbnails in your email campaigns increases clicks by as much as 50%. Video is particularly effective in emails from members of your sales team. According to Vidyard, 65% of executives visited the sender’s website after viewing an email video, and 75% of bottom-of-the-funnel sales prospects who received an email that included a short, personalized video pulled the trigger to become a customer. 

Just like the advice above about subject lines and body content, keep your email sales and marketing videos short. Shoot for a video that’s between ninety seconds and two minutes. 

Timely, Personalized Emails 

Filter and sort your email subscriber list into smaller segments by factors including buyer’s journey stage, industry, interest, etc. You don’t want to waste time and money sending an email offer to prospects who will ignore it, or worse, mark it as spam. Since 2016, the majority of customers have been expecting personalized content. Your clients want to feel like your business understands theirs and knows what’s important. 

Be sure to incorporate trust-based language in your email copy. Use first-person language, avoid industry-specific jargon, and use research-backed data. If you need to speak to a multilingual audience, translate your emails to overcome language barriers.

This tactic also involves knowing your target audience well by developing buyer personas or ideal customer profiles. According to Salesforce, 84% of customers are more likely to purchase from salespeople who understand their goals. Investing in tools that help automate your emails will make your newsletter and email campaigns’ segmentation, tracking, and personalization more manageable and efficient.

Being User-Friendly 

Your website isn’t the only type of digital content that needs to be user-friendly. The emails and newsletters marketing and sales departments send to prospects must be created with the customer experience in mind. And don’t forget the mobile experience! Nearly 45% of emails are opened on a mobile device, so your emails need to be optimized for mobile and desktop devices.

Other user-friendly elements to use in your emails include links to dedicated landing pages for any offers and clear calls-to-action (CTAs) that tell the recipient exactly what the link or button leads. “Learn More” and “Register” are examples of CTAs that are more descriptive than simply “Click Here.” 

Create Content in Preferred Formats (Hint: Probably Not Newsletters!)

According to DemandGen’s 2020 Content Marketing Study of over 200 executives, newsletters are some of the least likely types of content they’re willing to give away contact information to receive. However, leaders’ top types of content assets they’re willing to register for are webinars (51%), research and survey reports (50%), white papers (48%), and ebooks (44%). 

Creating emails that build trust and newsletters that convert will ensure your email campaigns bear fruit, and you’ll see an increase in sales revenue from your efforts.

Ryan Gould

Vice President of Strategy and Marketing Services

Elevation Marketing

From legacy Fortune 100 institutions to inventive start-ups, Ryan brings extensive experience with a wide range of B2B clients. He skillfully architects and manages the delivery of integrated marketing programs, and believes strongly in strategy, not just tactics, that effectively aligns sales and marketing teams within organizations.

Ryan is known for taking complex marketing and business challenges and developing solutions that simplify processes while driving customer outcomes and business value. He also thrives on guiding Elevation teams toward execution of strategies that help companies succeed in new verticals, while staying true to core values and brand integrity.